1. Technical Field
The invention relates to instant messaging services across the Internet. More particularly, the invention relates to the secure transmission and reception of messages and files via an instant messaging service across the Internet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Instant Messaging has changed a large population of Internet users' lives over the few years that such a service has been available. Users have the ability to conduct real-time conversations with other users. Friends and family keep in contact through group chatrooms and one-on-one chats. An entire culture has been created based upon Instant Messaging.
Users have the option to create lists of usernames that the user can monitor. The Instant Messaging programs notify the user when any of the users in the username lists are active and online.
Referring to FIG. 1, User 1 101 communicates to User 2 102 through the Internet 103. Messages sent between User 1 101 and user 2 102 are received and forwarded by the Instant Messaging Service 104. For example, the Instant Messaging Service 104 receives a message sent from User 1 101 and forwards the message to User 2 102 and vice versa. The Instant Messaging Service 104 also tells the users which users on their username lists are logged on.
With respect to FIG. 2, of the instant messaging services currently available from America Online, Incorporated, Microsoft Corporation, Hotmail, and Yahoo, Incorporated, America Online, Incorporated's AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) 201 service is the most popular and is on the forefront of instant messaging technology. AIM has been very successful in the home and consumer market, allowing people to communicate with friends and relatives immediately all over the United States and the world. AIM is so prolific that the phrases “buddy list” (a feature of AIM) and “I-M me” have become part of the current Pop culture.
Instant Messaging has operated in a unsecure environment. Typical consumers do not have any use for secure communications with other users. However, a growing number of people use AIM in the business environment to communicate with co-workers, and with people they do business with at other companies.
While business users find the convenience of AIM very useful for business purposes, they quite often have a nagging worry over the privacy of the information that is sent through this service. These “enterprise” users would like to have assurance that their data cannot be viewed by outside parties such as ISPs, network routers and the AIM service itself. America Online, Incorporated announced in May of 2002 that it would be providing a secure AIM service that would allow users to transmit and receive messages in a secure environment. A non-public Beta test program of the secure AIM product was conducted in May of 2002.
It would be advantageous to provide a secure instant messaging system that provides secure messaging and file transfer between users. It would further be advantageous to provide a secure instant messaging system that operates within the current instant messaging architecture.